10.  The first applicant was born in 1951 and lives in Šiauliai. The second applicant was born in 1962 and lives in Vilnius.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
11.  In 1974 the first applicant graduated from the Lithuanian Physical Culture Institute, qualifying as a certified sports instructor.
12.  From 1975 to 1986 he was an employee of the Lithuanian branch of the Soviet Security Service (the KGB). After Lithuania declared its independence in 1990, he found employment as a tax inspector at the Inland Revenue.
13.  On 31 May 1999 two authorities – the Lithuanian State Security Department and the Centre for Research into the Genocide and Resistance of the Lithuanian People – jointly concluded that the first applicant was subject to the restrictions provided under section 2 of the Law on the evaluation of the USSR State Security Committee (NKVD, NKGB, MGB, KGB) and the present activities of former permanent employees of the organisation (“the KGB Act” – see paragraph 24 below). The conclusion confirmed that the first applicant had the status of a “former KGB officer” (see paragraphs 26-27 below). On 2 June 1999 the first applicant was dismissed from the Inland Revenue on the basis of that conclusion.
14.  The first applicant brought an administrative action against the security intelligence authorities, claiming that he had been engaged only in counterintelligence and ideology work while employed by the KGB, and that he had not been involved in the violation of individual rights by that organisation. He argued that his dismissal under section 2 of the KGB Act and the resultant inability to find employment were therefore unlawful.
15.  On 9 September 1999 the Higher Administrative Court found that the conclusion of 31 May 1999 had been substantiated and that the first applicant was subject to the restrictions provided under section 2 of the KGB Act. In this respect, the court held that the applicant had the status of a “former KGB officer” within the meaning of the KGB Act, since he had occupied one of the positions mentioned in the list of 26 January 1999.
16.  On 19 October 1999 the Court of Appeal dismissed the first applicant’s appeal. It found that he had not occupied a KGB position dealing only with criminal investigations and could not therefore benefit from the exceptions listed under section 3 of the KGB Act.
17.  On an unspecified date in the 1980s, the second applicant graduated from Vilnius University as a qualified lawyer.
18.  From 11 February 1991 he worked as a prosecutor at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Lithuania, investigating primarily cases of organised crime and corruption.
19.  On 26 May 1999 the Lithuanian State Security Department and the Centre for Research into the Genocide and Resistance of the Lithuanian People jointly concluded that from 1985 to 1991 the second applicant had been an employee of the Lithuanian branch of the KGB, that he had the status of a “former KGB officer” and that he was thereby subject to the restrictions provided under section 2 of the KGB Act. On 31 May 1999 the second applicant was dismissed from his job at the Office of the Prosecutor General on the basis of that conclusion.
20.  The second applicant brought an administrative action against the security intelligence authorities and the Office of the Prosecutor General. He claimed that from 1985 to 1990 he had merely studied at a special KGB school in Moscow and that from 1990 to 1991 he had worked in the KGB as an informer for the Lithuanian security intelligence authorities and should therefore be entitled to benefit from the exceptions under section 3 of the KGB Act. He claimed that his dismissal under the Act and his resultant inability to find employment were unlawful.
21.  On 6 August 1999 the Higher Administrative Court allowed the second applicant’s claim, quashed the conclusion of 26 May 1999 and ordered him to be reinstated. The court found that the period of the second applicant’s studies at the KGB school from 1985 to 1990 was not to be taken into account for the purposes of the KGB Act, that he had worked in the KGB for a period of five months in 1990-91, that he had not occupied a KGB position dealing with political investigations and that, in any event, he had been a secret informer for the Lithuanian authorities. The court concluded that the exceptions under section 3 of the KGB Act applied to the second applicant and that his dismissal had therefore been unlawful.
22.  Following an appeal by the security intelligence authorities, on 25 October 1999 the Court of Appeal quashed the judgment of 6 August 1999. It held that, although the first-instance court had properly found that the second applicant had worked at the KGB for only five months, it had not been established that he had worked there as a secret informer for the Lithuanian authorities. Accordingly, he could not benefit from the exceptions under section 3 of the KGB Act.
23.  The second applicant appealed against the Court of Appeal’s judgment. By a decision of 28 January 2000, the President of the Supreme Court allowed the appeal. However, by a final decision of 20 April 2000, the full Supreme Court refused to examine the appeal and discontinued the proceedings for lack of jurisdiction.